A Regional Perspective of Socio-Ecological Predictors for Fruit and Nut Tree Varietal Diversity Maintained by Farmer Communities in Central Asia

Muhabbat Turdieva, Agnès Bernis-Fonteneau (), Maira Esenalieva, Abdihalil Kayimov, Ashirmuhammed Saparmyradov, Khursandi Safaraliev, Kairkul Shalpykov, Paolo Colangelo and Devra I. Jarvis
Additional contact information
Muhabbat Turdieva: Office for Central Asia, Bioversity International, c/o ICARDA, Osiyo Str., 6, Tashkent 100000, Uzbekistan
Agnès Bernis-Fonteneau: The Raffaella Foundation Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR), 80 Myer Creek Rd, Twisp, WA 98856, USA
Maira Esenalieva: Horticulture Department, Kazakh National Agricultural Research University, 137, Valihanov Str., Almaty 050000, Kazakhstan
Abdihalil Kayimov: Forestry Department, Tashkent State Agrarian University, 2, Universitetskaya Str., Tashkent 100140, Uzbekistan
Ashirmuhammed Saparmyradov: Agricultural Sciences Department, Academy of Sciences, Turkmenistan, 15, Bitarap Turkmenistan Str., Ashgabat 744000, Turkmenistan
Khursandi Safaraliev: Non Commercial Cooperative “Sarob”, 52/46 Ayni Str., Dushanbe 734003, Tajikistan
Kairkul Shalpykov: Institute of Chemistry and Phytotechnologies, 267, Chuy Avenue, Bishkek 720071, Kyrgyzstan
Paolo Colangelo: National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, Via Salaria km 29,300, 00015 Rome, Italy
Devra I. Jarvis: The Raffaella Foundation Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR), 80 Myer Creek Rd, Twisp, WA 98856, USA

World, 2024, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The five independent countries of Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, contain one of the richest areas in the world for the specific and intraspecific diversity of temperate fruit and nut tree species. Research was carried out via the collaboration of national research and education institutes with local community-based agencies and farmer communities. Raw data (2014 observations) for almond, apple, apricot, cherry plum, currant, grapevine, pear, pomegranate, and walnut were collected at the household (HH) level across the five countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. A set of models was used, including household variety richness as the dependent variable, to understand the influence of socio-ecological variables on the amount and distribution of crop varietal diversity in the farmers’ production systems. Four variables were included as explanatory variables of variety richness (fixed factors): ecoregion, ethno-linguistic group, management, and abiotic stress. The results show clear evidence that abiotic stress determines a higher richness of intra-specific diversity in the form of local varieties grown by farmers living in climatically unfavorable areas. The results for the studied ecoregions follow the same trend, with ecoregions with harsher conditions displaying a higher positive correlation with diversity. Mild environments such as the Central Asian riparian woodlands show an unexpectedly lower diversity than other harsher ecoregions. Ethno-linguistic groups also have an effect on the level of varietal diversity used, related to both historic nomadic practices and a culture of harvesting wild fruit and nuts in mountainous areas. The home garden management system hosts a higher diversity compared to larger production systems such as orchards. In Central Asia, encouraging the cultivation of local varieties of fruit and nut trees provides a key productive and resilient livelihood strategy for farmers living under the harsh environmental conditions of the region while providing a unique opportunity to conserve a genetic heritage of global importance.

Keywords: intraspecific diversity; resilience; environmental stress; horticultural crops; risk management; climate adaptation; ethno-linguistic diversity; Central Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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